practice

if i had to give a message to a student, a short message:

the kind of practice (that i care about) is not really so much memorization.

what you want to do is create a state in which your brain will build new structures that weren't there before. don't immediately panic when you see the black guy playing 40 notes a second - that's a structure that he took some time to build. don't expect to have that structure in your brain from the start.

and note that the brain is sort of building new organs, so it's going to take time. it's like a fetus growing - takes time. no way to force it really.

fast growing humans

humans pair bond for a long time because kids take about 15 years to raise. (compare penguins, which mate for 1 year only.) somebody needs to invent fast growing humans.

bee orgasm

i wonder if a bee has an orgasm when it stings a person and regrets it just after

ant flight

flight for ants is like music for humans. sort of pointless, but used in mating rituals. because mating is so important, the ability to fly is one of the few things the male actually has - in addition to his large penis and excellent vision.

mito

i think being a mitochondria would feel restrictive... locked in to one cell all your life, pumping out atp for the super-organism. it looks like they're linked into the cytoskeleton so they don't even really swim around in the cell. it might be more fun to just take your chances as a freelance bacteria cell. but... i suppose the mitochondria has fully accepted its role and maybe even enjoys it - at the same time it's one of the most protected bacteria strains on the planet. selling out to the machine has its advantages, and its disadvantages.

pregnant

somebody should invent a wrist-watch that tells you if you're pregnant